This is an interesting, quiet interview with Julian Assange about WikiLeaks and those powers that currently try to prevent his organisation from doing its work.

The interviewer does not interrupt and this is in contrast to so many of the fast cut, sensationalist style TV interviews, reports and also those misinformed or even hate-filled blog posts like some of those recently found on the usually respectable Boing Boing.

Recommended.

Frost over the World – Julian Assange (24:01), December 22, 2010

“The WikiLeaks founder talks about secrets, leaks and why he will not go back to Sweden.”

“Trudy Muller, an Apple spokeswoman, said the company had removed the app “because it violated our developer guidelines.” Ms. Muller added: “Apps must comply with all local laws and may not put an individual or group in harm’s way.”“

This is simply an excuse for censorship.

I’ve been of course boycotting Apple (and switched to PC hardware/Linux) ever since they let me down with my broken iMac G5 after a Leopard “upgrade” that went badly wrong and when they then even removed my post to their forum about the matter in April 2008.

So I was preparing this blog entry about how Julian Assange was finally granted bail (www.guardian.co.uk), about Reporters without Borders among many others supporting WikiLeaks (en.rsf.org) this week, about the US House Judiciary Committee conclusion(wlcentral.org)“…four argued that Wikileaks is protected by the Constitution, two argued that it should be prosecuted, and witness Stephen Vladeck abstained from making a determination on WikiLeaks” and about the Bank of America that now joined the club of “independent” banking entities that won’t process donations to WikiLeaks (www.kansascity.com) any more while you can always find out how-to donate to WikiLeaks on this page (wikileaks.ch).

But then I saw the following video and even though I am not really that much into rap I think this one summarizes pretty well in pop culture speak what is going on right now and what is at stake…

Good morning, this is a Juice News call outin the wake of Cable Gate and the subsequent fall-outballs out revelations, observations of diplomatsgiving actual confirmation of hidden facts

spilling backroom deals, leaking leaders’ chit chatmoney laundering and tit for tat spits and spats: The picture that emerges, provided by the serversshines light further behind the wire curtain

Certainly this has divided views of the populaceSome say it’s obvious, ‘nothing new in these documents’Others say it’s ominous, and applaud the revelationsOthers still call for the messenger’s assassination

Following Assange’s arrest and calls for his head, over nine 9000 counterattacks on all of the web, the state department being forced to defendspying at the UN and a secret war in Yemen

Despite DDOS attacks on Wikileaks’ system Day by day cables still spray through mirror reflectionWill cable-gate change the game or lead to repression?We get face-to-face with Hillary Clinton

Hillary Clinton, how does it feel to get leaked on?It’s scandalous, this is a case of high treasonIt’s against the land of the brave and divine freedom – We’re the good guys, for democracy, we fight evil

And we’ve waged peace around the world, proud of the flagThese leaks could devalue this powerful brandBring military operations straight to a haltOur shareholders, clients and partners would plainly revolt

But, aren’t you beholden to the American Public?And isn’t the US one of the primary culprits, In overthrowing governments? Such as? Chile, Iran, Nicaragua?Please, stop with the drama!

The American People are our employees whose taxes fund the wars that support our schemestheir kids become troops we send overseasin return for mega malls and the American dream

And if our client states don’t like the things that we dowe install a dictator with a CIA coup in foreign relations, subversion is the method we useWikileaks threaten this system so it’s a terrorist group

But the people of the world seem to generally approve of Wikileaks’ actions in spilling the truth…They do? Well, then, they’re terrorists too!dissentors are traitors, as history proves

By the way, Robert, how much for your news show?I pay cash — I just got some RublesSorry, Silvio, we have scruples, it’s not for saleVa bo, Hillary, come have a cigar at the hotel

Well, Hillary it appears that the leadersAre not that outraged. Ha! Are you serious?Of course not. We’re one happy family tree, sonAs you’ll see soon when we hang Assange for treason

Treason? could an Australian ever stand trial?Ha! Australia’s in the American Empire!We have puppet states, franchisees, subsidiaries,Provided they obey, they’re guaranteed liberty

We’re not letting Assange get out of our gripYou know how hard it was to plant a condom that split?Hill, ya turd, your Bilderberg lies are blatantBut, Alex, where’s your evidence that Assange is an agent?

Well, obviously this is a globalist psi-ops plot designed to keep us in the dark

They’re climbin in your windowsThey’re snatchin your income taxtryna enslave you so y’all need tohide your kids, hide your wifebuy a gun , buy a knife watch my show, buy your goldand buy your silvercuz they enslavin errbody out hereWe don’t have to look for no factswe know this is true … they gon chip youthey gon tag youbut we can run and yell that,run and yell thatrun and yell that! New WorldNew world order!

We got his IPhe done left data discs and allhe is so donehe is really going, on trialBut what is Assange accused of?I was molested by Julian in the Stokholm

So done, so done, so done, so

Ok, It’s almost time to end for the dayBut until we meet again, a few questions remainIs Wikileaks really the greatest threat that we face?Or is it the response we are seeing in defense of the state?

A response which is building and seeksTo turn back the clock on freedom of speechAnd fundamental rights earned over a centuryThis should ring alarm bells for all who know their history

From this evidence, are we neglecting our memoryAnd repeating the trajectory of the twentieth century?And if so, upon seeing the factsBut ceasing to act, don’t we deserve the leaders we have?

What needs to befall before we open the door and yell “I’m mad as hell and I’m not gonna take it anymore!”?Or shall we sit waiting for messiahs or aliens, Or a super-hero, if they’re not all one and the same meme?

History, dear viewers, is happeningWill we ever get a similar chance again?History books will be written about events this monthThe story they will tell — is up to us

Like this:

As netzpolitik.org reports the JMStV v2010 was unanimously stopped in NRW today. This is very good news for free speech and free access to information in Germany. As previously reported the consequences for bloggers, webmasters, artists and (new media) investors would have been pretty devastating with the JMStV v2010 in place.

So sanity has prevailed after all. It also seems that politicians are finally starting to understand the dynamics of the net and what the online generation can contribute to that ongoing experiment we call Democracy.

It still remains to be seen how a future version of the JMStV will be drafted and what it might look like: anyone planing an online project in Germany is well advised to follow closely all developments leading towards a JMStV v2011…

See also JMStV vor dem Aus (www.heise.de/tp) for a critical look at the way the JMStV v2010 was drafted. The article basically says that the process was not an open one and that old media (TV) and its close ties to politics had a lot to say. Some of the comments to the article also question the motivation for stopping the JMStV and suggest mainly tactical reasons.

There are lessons to be learned for everyone, that seems pretty clear to me. For me personally one lesson is: even if you live in a supposedly free country like Germany there are certain values like free speech that constantly need to be tested and defended if necessary. JMStV v2010 had the potential of destroying (not only) wide parts of the German blogosphere. In the end sanity prevailed, but things could have gone the other way and this is something that I simply had not anticipated in this country in the year 2010. Everyone needs to keep their eyes of vigilance open at all times from now on.

* How will a future version of the JMStV be drafted and how will it look like?

Germany’s politicians will still have a lot of explaining to do if they want to regain some of the trust they lost to the net community. At the moment it is also unclear why exactly NRW will possibly vote against the JMStV.

Free speech and free access to information are too important and should never have been taken so lightly by those in charge in Germany today.

I never quite understood why Ron Paul is a Republican, but being from Europe I also never understood why the US can be so proud of its Democracy when there are basically only two parties…

Here is US Congressman Ron Paul saying what should seem obvious to anyone with a clear mind when looking at the facts around the latest WikiLeaks revelations. Ron Paul asks questions and I believe he asks the right ones. Questions are always more powerful than answers and he knows it.

Politics in a pre-WikiLeaks aera mainly seemed to be about spitting out insulting sound bites towards the political enemy. And so it came that politicians and governments all over the world not only have become whores to lobbyist and big money, but also to that important Fourth Estate (en.wikipedia.org).

Ron Paul is one of those rare politicians, be it on the left or right of the political spectrum, who is not caught up in a narrow-minded ideology and some -ism, but simply analyses with sanity, asks questions and speaks his own mind.